Xiandu
Xiandu (English: Middle of Clymene Island) is a small hamlet found in 1912, Clymene, by new Chinese immigrants who had previously settled in Plains or Nóngyè. The new settlement was funded by Chinese-Clymene businessmen wanting a urban and business settlement. Once reaching about 1,500 in population during the 1950s most people have moved away from the settlement to Sofasi or Adoha in recent years. The settlement is one of three Chinese named settlements in Clymene the other being Sofasi and Nóngyè. Geography The Geography of Xiandu played a role in the founding of the hamlet and still today. In the founding, the settlers had to go around the rough and high terrain in the center of the island which took about a month to bring necessary materials and settle. The rough terrain kept the people from farming much in the hamlet and could only farm a bit in the south of the hamlet forcing the people to buy food from out of town. Because of the bad soil and terrain the use of the hamlet for financial and business services matches perfectly to the ways of the economy there. History Xiandu was founded by a committee of small businessmen from Plains and Nóngyè who wanted another Chinese settlement but this time not oriented for farming purposes. The original founders thought that the Chinese minority could gain better representation and rights if they were able to show there dedication to the economy on the island. In 1912, ten years after the founding of Nóngyè, Xiandu was founded. Xiandu was named in 1913 after a mixture of Chinese and other languages to mean "Middle of Clymene Island", at the time not being called Asian Island. With new marketplaces, banks and businesses being built many people from neighboring hamlets would come by to buy the goods in the Xiandu, which quickly grew to become a village. By 1930 during the great depression, the hamlet did take a hit but population grew because of a movement of people away from Nóngyè, Glesga, Plains, and Cornwall. While unemployment did rise, along with poverty, the hamlet stayed above others in economic matters. By the 1950s Xiandu became a local hub for commerce in Clymene but due to the construction of better roads and buildings in Sofasi and Lisney the populace moved away. In the 1980s the population decreased to only 550, losing village status in 1990, and by the 2000s about 400. Today the hamlet serves as a business and commerce hub for local people in Glesga and Nóngyè. Demographics Xiandu has had a huge increase of population during the middle of the century and then afterwards has had a huge decrease in population due to the economic conditions within the hamlet and around the state. During the first year of the founding the city had a population of about 200 and by the next ten years up to 750. The highest point was apparently reported in the 1950s when Xiandu reached 1,500 people. Today the population of the hamlet has continued to drop, but recently picked up again to about 370 people. In early 2013, a demographics center stated 385 people lived there. The town rivals its Chinese counterpart in being one of the most irreligious settlements in all of Lovia, partly due to its culture and heritage. In 1945 about 61% of the town was reported as nonreligious, and today about 72% is nonreligious, along with 20% Buddhist. Category:Settlement Category:Settlement in Clymene Category:Hamlet Category:Current hamlet